Deacon Tom Anthony

Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 94

Reading 1 Jer 20:10-13

Jeremiah said:
“I hear the whisperings of many:
‘Terror on every side!
Denounce! let us denounce him!’
All those who were my friends
are on the watch for any misstep of mine.
‘Perhaps he will be trapped; then we can prevail,
and take our vengeance on him.’
But the LORD is with me, like a mighty champion:
my persecutors will stumble, they will not triumph.
In their failure they will be put to utter shame,
to lasting, unforgettable confusion.
O LORD of hosts, you who test the just,
who probe mind and heart,
let me witness the vengeance you take on them,
for to you I have entrusted my cause.
Sing to the LORD,
praise the LORD,
for he has rescued the life of the poor
from the power of the wicked!”

Responsorial Psalm Ps 69:8-10, 14, 17, 33-35

R. (14c) Lord, in your great love, answer me.
For your sake I bear insult,
and shame covers my face.
I have become an outcast to my brothers,
a stranger to my children,
Because zeal for your house consumes me,
and the insults of those who blaspheme you fall upon me.
R. Lord, in your great love, answer me.
I pray to you, O LORD,
for the time of your favor, O God!
In your great kindness answer me
with your constant help.
Answer me, O LORD, for bounteous is your kindness;
in your great mercy turn toward me.
R. Lord, in your great love, answer me.
“See, you lowly ones, and be glad;
you who seek God, may your hearts revive!
For the LORD hears the poor,
and his own who are in bonds he spurns not.
Let the heavens and the earth praise him,
the seas and whatever moves in them!’‘
R. Lord, in your great love, answer me.

Reading 2 Rom 5:12-15

Brothers and sisters:
Through one man sin entered the world,
and through sin, death,
and thus death came to all men, inasmuch as all sinned—
for up to the time of the law, sin was in the world,
though sin is not accounted when there is no law.
But death reigned from Adam to Moses,
even over those who did not sin
after the pattern of the trespass of Adam,
who is the type of the one who was to come.
But the gift is not like the transgression.
For if by the transgression of the one the many died,
how much more did the grace of God
and the gracious gift of the one man Jesus Christ
overflow for the many.

Alleluia Jn 15:26b, 27a

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The Spirit of truth will testify to me, says the Lord;
and you also will testify.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel Mt 10:26-33

Jesus said to the Twelve:
“Fear no one.
Nothing is concealed that will not be revealed,
nor secret that will not be known.
What I say to you in the darkness, speak in the light;
what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops.
And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul;
rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy
both soul and body in Gehenna.
Are not two sparrows sold for a small coin?
Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father’s knowledge.
Even all the hairs of your head are counted.
So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
Everyone who acknowledges me before others
I will acknowledge before my heavenly Father.
But whoever denies me before others,
I will deny before my heavenly Father.”

MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS,

Through the Scripture Readings this week we are encouraged to ask ourselves this question:

How strong is our faith?”

When times are good or when our lives are not threatened is our faith as strong as it should be? When we are facing some sort of crisis or when we seemingly have no other options then a reliance on God, it is somewhat easier to rely on our faith and maybe use it as a resource of last resort to get us through what we are confronting. Even then that faith can be weaker than it appears to be because we might find ourselves in a position where we don’t truly know God. It is as if we are going through the motions without truly understanding what we are asking for and not truly believing we will receive what we need from a God that we don’t even know personally. This is not to say that God will not answer but at times like this we just might not be starting from a point of strength but of weakness. Our faith needs to be important to us. Our faith needs to be strengthened constantly in good times and in bad times.

The Prophet Jeremiah offers us an example to strive for. Jeremiah was born to a priestly family close to Jerusalem. This indicates that he was close to the Ruling Class in Judah and was introduced to a life of privilege and authority. Instead, he was called to his prophetic office at the age of 32. He found himself opposing the idolatry and the turning away of the ruling class and priests from the direction and worship of God. He also opposed the decisions of the ruling class that went directly against the advice, counsel, and desires of God that he put forth. He faced imprisonment, torture, and threats of death constantly. He was also alienated from family and friends. In the face of all this he made the following statement:

“But the LORD is with me, like a mighty champion:
my persecutors will stumble, they will not triumph.
In their failure they will be put to utter shame,
to lasting, unforgettable confusion.
O LORD of hosts, you who test the just,
who probe mind and heart,
let me witness the vengeance you take on them,
for to you I have entrusted my cause.
Sing to the LORD,
praise the LORD,
for he has rescued the life of the poor
from the power of the wicked!”

Facing all of this, Jeremiah chose to have reliance on God. Even more encouraging to us should be the thought process that Jeremiah worked through to come to this decision. Even though he was a prophet and communicated directly with God in a very intimate relationship, he had his doubts. There were times when he struggled with what God wanted him to do. He doubted, he feared, and he was frightened of the future. Yet, when confronted with all the adversity, abandonment, and threats his faith prevailed. There will be many who just might find themselves in the same situation as Jeremiah but the vast majority of us as Christians will be facing much less but still daunting circumstances. In times like these, to strengthen our faith, we might turn to the story of Jeremiah and see this man, nothing special in his own right, that rose above the oppositions that he faced with a strong faith that propelled him through the situation where he was able to accomplish what God wanted him to accomplish.

We are the same way. In the eyes of society and the world we may be seen as nothing special but that is exactly why God loves us so much. Through His actions God continuously lifts up all those who would be considered castaways by society and exalts them through an intimate relationship with them. To be rejected by the world means to be accepted by God. God asks us to choose Him before society and what is being offered there. When we do this then we can experience Him to the fullest. Jeremiah had a choice. His life would have been a life of privilege and, regardless what happened to the Jewish people, he would have been protected and shielded from any negative things that would have happened. Even though this was the case, Jeremiah chose a relationship with God and speaking out against the princely powers regardless of the repercussions. As the Apostle Paul says,

“It does not concern me in the least that I be judged by you or any human tribunal; I do not even pass judgment on myself; I am not conscious of anything against me, but I do not thereby stand aquitted; the one who judges me is the Lord.”

We should not be concerned either. Jesus Christ is Our Lord and God is Our Father. We should try to model our lives with this in mind. There will be forces that rally against us. There will be those who ridicule us. There will be those who will indeed try to destroy us. There will be times when we face religious intolerance and attempts to hurt our livelihood and family. We all fall short and we all struggle with things; especially with our own humanity but we do have an advocate and protector in Jesus Christ. Through prayer and a healthy relationship with Jesus we can slowly gain trust in Jesus and know that regardless of the circumstances that we face we will be alright in the end; for we are with our God.

In the Gospel Reading today Jesus tells us to speak out about our faith and His teachings without fear. He reminds us not to be afraid of those who can destroy the body but not the soul. God knows all things and is aware of what we are facing. Going forward with a complete trust in our God will develop a new-found confidence both in our relationship with him and will insure that we when we do things in His name there is nothing to fear. Yes, this can be difficult at times but usually things that are worthwhile are not easy. The Christian Way is not easy nor was it meant to be. What Christ had to face was not easy and by extension to be unified with Him we have to endure all things like Him. Forged like gold in the furnace we are strengthened by trials and tribulations and not overcome by them when Jesus is with us.

Our relationship with Jesus Christ and by extension God needs to be the most important relationship in our lives. We are referring to our God whose presence should be recognized and realized constantly. When we do not do this then we are more subject to sin and corruption. Sin and corruption leads to degradation and death. The importance of this cannot be understated. Our spiritual, mental, and physical health is at stake here. All things through Jesus Christ cannot lead us in the wrong direction but insures that we will be going in the right direction. The right directions mean a joyful, fruitful life where we can face all obstacles and issues with confidence and an understanding that we will be okay. There also must be a realization that when there is no opposition or conflict to confront that in itself is an obstacle because there is temptation not to realize God in our lives because of the lack of crisis. This is when the temptations of Satan can easily creep in and take control of us. Keeping a constant and growing relationship with God prevents this from happening.

Our faith is like a garden and requires constant attention so that it might grow. Ignoring it means that it will not bear a harvest and that instead it will die through lack of nurturing; choked by the weeds of the world. Ignoring it also means that it is indeed not important to us. Our actions and attention are evidence enough just how important or unimportant it is. God wants it to be important. Do we?
Deacon Tom



MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS,

 As Christians and Children of God, we need to remind ourselves that we are indeed walking with Jesus Christ. I feel that we can all remember times in our lives when we have felt abandoned by those who we thought were closest to us or trusted the most. We were disappointed and betrayed by the actions of another person that we expected more from. The emotional scars left by such actions take a very long time to heal. Unfortunately, what has been described happens far too often. We are all broken and not perfect. Whatever burdens and challenges we face are brought into every relationship and interaction that we participate in. What results is a mixture of positive and negative experiences which will influence how we look and interpret events. This reality tends to frustrate us as our expectations commonly are set higher than the results that we witness. In our humanness, we can approach our relationship the same way with Jesus Christ. We limit Him and ourselves in the interactions we have. The hurt and pain we have experienced in our human relationships are automatically applied to our relationship with Jesus. What we quickly forget is that Jesus Christ is perfect and that if we only accept Him for who He is there will be no disappointments or pain.

In the Gospel Reading today, Jesus reminds us just how much God loves us. Each one of our hairs on our head are counted. Take a moment to contemplate this: God loves us so much that He knows everything about us. Even the most unimportant thing about us, such as how many hairs are on our head, does not escape His knowledge of us. Even more, He feels what we feel and understands the struggles that we face. In the face of these challenges, we are reminded that He will never abandon us. There should be no fear of what is to come for God is with us. The prophet Jeremiah describes God as a mighty champion standing at his side knowing that the threats of death and imprisonment would not come to fruit because God was with Him. As Christians, we are all protected and valued in the same way. We all have a champion in God and He is ready disrupt all who oppose us. It is up to us to embrace this relationship and treat it with the importance and trust that it deserves. The only disappointments and failures that will result from this relationship will be from us. It is our responsibility to keep our focus and determination, modeling our love for God by the example He set by first loving us.

Jesus Christ challenges us to love Him and build up His kingdom. He tells us to shout out from the rooftops what we know and what we believe. We need to have full confidence in what has been revealed to us and what we know is true. When we start to proclaim our faith and live our faith, good things will start to happen. We will develop the capability to force out all the negative elements of our life and it will be replaced fully with the love of Christ. It will be like the removal of a dam that has been forcing back the natural flow of water. In this case, our dam has been preventing the free flow of Living Water from Jesus Christ.

Jesus has told us: “Ask and it shall be given, seek and you shall find, knock and the door will be opened.” The structure of the relationship is already in place. Jesus has offered everything. He is now waiting for us to accept His offer. When we do accept this offer our relationship with Him will affect all other relationships we are involved in. We will see things through Jesus and will act accordingly. Our brokenness will be healed and in turn we will be able to heal all those broken, disappointing relationships we have been involved in. In the end, it must be asked: “What are we waiting for?”



Morning Prayer for Sunday in Ordinary Time
God, come to my assistance.
— Lord, make haste to help me.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
— as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen. Alleluia.
HYMN
From all that dwell below the skies,
let the Creator’s praise arise;
let the Redeemer’s name be sung,
through every land by every tongue.
Eternal are thy mercies, Lord;
eternal truth attends thy word.
Thy praise shall sound from shore to shore,
till suns shall rise and set no more.
Your lofty themes, ye mortals, bring,
in songs of praise divinely sing;
the great salvation loud proclaim,
and shout for joy the Savior’s name.
In every land begin the song;
to every land the strains belong;
in cheerful sounds all voices raise,
and fill the world with loudest praise.
Text: Sts. 1-2, Isaac Watts; Sts. 3-4, Anonymous; Music: Attr. to John Hatton; Tune: DUKE STREET, Meter: LM
“From All That Dwell Below The Skys” performed by St. Michael’s Singers is available from Amazon.com.
PSALMODY
Ant. 1 Praise the Lord, for his loving kindness will never fail, alleluia.

Psalm 118
Song of joy for salvation
This Jesus is the stone which, rejected by you builders, has become the chief stone supporting all the rest (Acts 4:11).

Give thanks to the Lord for he is good,
for his love endures for ever.
Ant. Praise the Lord, for his loving kindness will never fail, alleluia.
Let the sons of Israel say:
“His love endures for ever.”
Let the sons of Aaron say:
“His love endures for ever.”
Let those who fear the Lord say:
“His love endures for ever.”
Ant. Praise the Lord, for his loving kindness will never fail, alleluia.
I called to the Lord in my distress;
he answered and freed me.
The Lord is at my side; I do not fear.
What can man do against me?
The Lord is at my side as my helper:
I shall look down on my foes.
Ant. Praise the Lord, for his loving kindness will never fail, alleluia.
It is better to take refuge in the Lord
than to trust in men:
it is better to take refuge in the Lord
than to trust in princes.
Ant. Praise the Lord, for his loving kindness will never fail, alleluia.
The nations all encompassed me;
in the Lord’s name I crushed them.
They compassed me, compassed me about;
in the Lord’s name I crushed them.
They compassed me about like bees;
they blazed like a fire among thorns.
In the Lord’s name I crushed them.
Ant. Praise the Lord, for his loving kindness will never fail, alleluia.
I was hard-pressed and was falling
but the Lord came to help me.
The Lord is my strength and my song;
he is my savior.
There are shouts of joy and victory
in the tents of the just.
Ant. Praise the Lord, for his loving kindness will never fail, alleluia.
The Lord’s right hand has triumphed;
his right hand raised me.
The Lord’s right hand has triumphed;
I shall not die, I shall live
and recount his deeds.
I was punished, I was punished by the Lord,
but not doomed to die.
Ant. Praise the Lord, for his loving kindness will never fail, alleluia.
Open to me the gates of holiness:
I will enter and give thanks.
This is the Lord’s own gate
where the just may enter.
I will thank you for you have answered
and you are my savior.
Ant. Praise the Lord, for his loving kindness will never fail, alleluia.
The stone which the builders rejected
has become the corner stone.
This is the work of the Lord,
a marvel in our eyes.
This day was made by the Lord;
we rejoice and are glad.
Ant. Praise the Lord, for his loving kindness will never fail, alleluia.
O Lord, grant us salvation;
O Lord, grant success.
Blessed in the name of the Lord
is he who comes.
We bless you from the house of the Lord;
the Lord God is our light.
Ant. Praise the Lord, for his loving kindness will never fail, alleluia.
Go forward in procession with branches
even to the altar.
You are my God, I thank you.
My God, I praise you.
Give thanks to the Lord for he is good;
for his love endures for ever.
Ant. Praise the Lord, for his loving kindness will never fail, alleluia.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
— as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

Psalm-prayer
Lord God, you have given us the great day of rejoicing: Jesus Christ, the stone rejected by the builders, has become the cornerstone of the Church, our spiritual home. Shed upon your Church the rays of your glory, that it may be seen as the gate of salvation open to all nations. Let cries of joy and exultation ring out from its tents, to celebrate the wonder of Christ’s resurrection.

Ant. Praise the Lord, for his loving kindness will never fail, alleluia.
Ant. 2 Alleluia! Bless the Lord, all you works of the Lord, alleluia!

Canticle — Daniel 3:52-57
Let all creatures praise the Lord
The Creator… is blessed for ever (Romans 1:25).

Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of our fathers,
praiseworthy and exalted above all forever.
Ant. Alleluia! Bless the Lord, all you works of the Lord, alleluia!
And blessed is your holy and glorious name,
praiseworthy and exalted above all for all ages.
Ant. Alleluia! Bless the Lord, all you works of the Lord, alleluia!
Blessed are you in the temple of your holy glory,
praiseworthy and glorious above all forever.
Ant. Alleluia! Bless the Lord, all you works of the Lord, alleluia!
Blessed are you on the throne of your kingdom,
praiseworthy and exalted above all forever.
Ant. Alleluia! Bless the Lord, all you works of the Lord, alleluia!
Blessed are you who look into the depths
from your throne upon the cherubim,
praiseworthy and exalted above all forever.
Ant. Alleluia! Bless the Lord, all you works of the Lord, alleluia!
Blessed are you in the firmament of heaven,
praiseworthy and glorious forever.
Ant. Alleluia! Bless the Lord, all you works of the Lord, alleluia!
Bless the Lord, all you works of the Lord,
praise and exalt him above all forever.
Ant. Alleluia! Bless the Lord, all you works of the Lord, alleluia!
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
— as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

Ant. Alleluia! Bless the Lord, all you works of the Lord, alleluia!
Ant. 3 Let everything that breathes give praise to the Lord, alleluia.

Psalm 150
Praise the Lord
Let mind and heart be in your song: this is to glorify God with your whole self (Hesychius).

Praise God in his holy place,
praise him in his mighty heavens.
Praise him for his powerful deeds,
praise his surpassing greatness.
Ant. Let everything that breathes give praise to the Lord, alleluia.
O praise him with sound of trumpet,
praise him with lute and harp.
Praise him with timbrel and dance,
praise him with strings and pipes.
Ant. Let everything that breathes give praise to the Lord, alleluia.
O praise him with resounding cymbals,
praise him with clashing of cymbals.
Let everything that lives and that breathes
give praise to the Lord.
Ant. Let everything that breathes give praise to the Lord, alleluia.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
— as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.
Psalm-prayer

Lord God, maker of heaven and earth and of all created things, you make your just ones holy and you justify sinners who confess your name. Hear us as we humbly pray to you: give us eternal joy with your saints.

Ant. Let everything that breathes give praise to the Lord, alleluia.

READING 2 Timothy 2:8, 11-13
Remember that Jesus Christ, a descendant of David, was raised from the dead. You can depend on this:
If we have died with him
we shall also live with him;
If we hold out to the end
we shall also reign with him.
But if we deny him he will deny us. If we are unfaithful he will still remain faithful, for he cannot deny himself.

Sacred Silence (indicated by a bell) – a moment to reflect and receive in our hearts the full resonance of the voice of the Holy Spirit and to unite our personal prayer more closely with the word of God and public voice of the Church.

RESPONSORY

We give thanks to you, O God, as we call upon your name.
— We give thanks to you, O God, as we call upon your name.
We cry aloud how marvelous you are,
— as we call upon your name.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,
— We give thanks to you, O God, as we call upon your name.

CANTICLE OF ZECHARIAH
Ant. Help us, O Lord, for we are troubled; give the command, O God, and bring us peace.
Luke 1:68-79
The Messiah and his forerunner
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel;
he has come to his people and set them free.
He has raised up for us a mighty savior,
born of the house of his servant David.
Through his holy prophets he promised of old
that he would save us from our enemies,
from the hands of all who hate us.
He promised to show mercy to our fathers
and to remember his holy covenant.
This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham:
to set us free from the hands of our enemies,
free to worship him without fear,
holy and righteous in his sight
all the days of our life.
You, my child, shall be called the prophet
of the Most High;
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,
to give his people knowledge of salvation
by the forgiveness of their sins.
In the tender compassion of our God
the dawn from on high shall break upon us,
to shine on those who dwell in darkness
and the shadow of death,
and to guide our feet into the way of peace.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is no
w,
and will be for ever. Amen.
Ant. Help us, O Lord, for we are troubled; give the command, O God, and bring us peace.

INTERCESSIONS

Open your hearts to praise the God of power and goodness, for he loves us and knows our needs:
We praise you, Lord, and trust in you.
We bless you, almighty God, King of the universe, because you called us while we were yet sinners,
— to acknowledge your truth and to serve your majesty.
We praise you, Lord, and trust in you.
O God, you opened the gates of mercy for us,
— let us never turn aside from the path of life.
We praise you, Lord, and trust in you.
As we celebrate the resurrection of your beloved Son,
— help us to spend this day in the spirit of joy.
We praise you, Lord, and trust in you.
Give to your faithful, O Lord, a prayerful spirit of gratitude,
— that we may thank you for all your gifts.
We praise you, Lord, and trust in you.

Our Father who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us,
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
Concluding Prayer
Grant, O Lord,
that we may always revere and love your holy name
for you never deprive of your guidance
those you set firm on the foundation of your love.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
— Amen.


DISMISSAL
May the Lord bless us,
protect us from all evil and bring us to everlasting life.
— Amen.

From the book of Judges
The call of Gideon

The Israelites offended the Lord, who therefore delivered them into the power of Midian for seven years, so that Midian held Israel subject. For fear of Midian the Israelites established the fire signals on the mountains, the caves for refuge, and the strongholds.
And it used to be that when the Israelites had completed their sowing, Midian, Amalek and the Kedemites would come up, encamp opposite them, and destroy the produce of the land as far as the outskirts of Gaza, leaving no sustenance in Israel, nor sheep, oxen or asses. For they would come up with their livestock, and their tents would become as numerous as locusts; and neither they nor their camels could be numbered, when they came into the land to lay it waste. Thus was Israel reduced to misery by Midian.
Then the angel of the Lord came and sat under the terebinth in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite. While his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the wine press to save it from the Midianites, the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said, “The Lord is with you, O champion!” “My Lord,” Gideon said to him, “if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are his wondrous deeds of which our fathers told us when they said, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?’ For now the Lord has abandoned us and has delivered us into the power of Midian.”
The Lord turned to him and said, “Go with the strength you have and save Israel from the power of Midian. It is I who send you.” But he answered him, “Please, my lord, how can I save Israel? My family is the meanest in Manasseh, and I am the most insignificant in my father’s house.” “I shall be with you,” the Lord said to him, “and you will cut down Midian to the last man.” He answered him, “If I find favor with you, give me a sign that you are speaking with me. Do not depart from here, I pray you, until I come back to you and bring out my offering and set it before you.” He answered, “I will await your return.”
So Gideon went off and prepared a kid and an ephah of flour in the form of unleavened cakes. Putting the meat in a basket and the broth in a pot, he brought them out to him under the terebinth and presented them. The angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and unleavened cakes and lay them on this rock; then pour out the broth.” When he had done so, the angel of the Lord stretched out the tip of the staff he held, and touched the meat and unleavened cakes. Thereupon a fire came up from the rock which consumed the meat and unleavened cakes, and the angel of the Lord disappeared from sight.
Gideon, now aware that it had been the angel of the Lord, said, “Alas, Lord God, that I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face!” The Lord answered him, “Be calm, do not fear. You shall not die.”
So Gideon built there an altar to the Lord and called it Yahweh-shalom.
 .

Second reading
From a treatise on the Lord’s Prayer by Saint Cyprian, bishop and martyr
May your name be hallowed

How merciful the Lord is to us, how kind and richly compassionate! He wished us to repeat this prayer in God’s sight, to call the Lord our Father and, as Christ is God’s Son, be called in turn sons of God! None of us would ever have dared to utter this name unless he himself had allowed us to pray in this way. And therefore, dear friends, we should bear in mind and realize that when we call God our Father we ought also to act like sons. If we are pleased to call him Father, let him in turn be pleased to call us sons.
We should live like the temples of God we are, so that it can be seen that God lives in us. No act of ours should be unworthy of the spirit. Now that we have begun to live in heaven and in spirit, all our thoughts and actions should be heavenly and spiritual; for, as the Lord God himself has said: Those who honor me I will honor, and those who despise me shall be despised. And the blessed Apostle wrote in his letter: You are not your own; you were bought with a great price. So glorify and bear God in your body.
We go on to say, May your name be hallowed. It is not that we think to make God holy by our prayers; rather we are asking God that his name may be made holy in us. Indeed, how could God be made holy, he who is the source of holiness? Still, because he himself said: Be holy, for I am holy, we pray and beseech him that we who have been hallowed in baptism may persevere in what we have begun. And we pray for this every day, for we have need of daily sanctification; sinning every day, we cleanse our faults again and again by constant sanctification.
The apostle Paul instructs us in these words concerning the sanctification which God’s loving kindness confers on us: Neither the immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor robbers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such indeed you were. But you have been washed, you have been sanctified, you have been justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God. We were sanctified, he says, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God. Hence we make our prayer that this sanctification may remain in us. But further, our Lord who is also our judge warns those who have been cured and brought back to life by him to sin no more lest something worse happen to them. Thus we offer constant prayers and beg night and day that this sanctification and new life which is ours by God’s favor may be preserved by his protection.

First reading
From the book of Judges
6:33-40; 7:1-8, 16-22a
Gideon conquers with a smaller army

All Midian and Amalek and the Kedemites mustered and crossed over into the valley of Jezreel, where they encamped. The spirit of the Lord enveloped Gideon; he blew the horn that summoned Abiezer to follow him. He sent messengers, too, throughout Manasseh, which also obeyed his summons; through Asher, Zebulun and Naphtali, likewise, he sent messengers and these tribes advanced to meet the others.
Gideon said to God, “If indeed you are going to save Israel through me, as you promised, I am putting this woolen fleece on the threshing floor. If dew comes on the fleece alone, while all the ground is dry, I shall know that you will save Israel through me, as you promised.” That is what took place. Early the next morning he wrung the dew from the fleece, squeezing out of it a bowlful of water. Gideon then said to God, “Do not be angry with me if I speak once more. Let me make just one more test with the fleece. Let the fleece alone be dry, but let there be dew on all the ground.” That night God did so; the fleece alone was dry, but there was dew on all the ground.
Early the next morning Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) encamped by En-harod with all his soldiers. The camp of Midian was in the valley north of Gibeath-hammoreh. The Lord said to Gideon, “You have too many soldiers with you for me to deliver Midian into their power, lest Israel vaunt itself against me and say, ‘My own power brought me the victory.’ Now proclaim to all the soldiers, ‘If anyone is afraid or fearful, let him leave.’” When Gideon put them to this test on the mountain, twenty-two thousand of the soldiers left, but ten thousand remained. The Lord said to Gideon, “There are still too many soldiers. Lead them down to the water and I will test them for you there. If I tell you that a certain man is to go with you, he must go with you. But no one is to go if I tell you he must not.” When Gideon led the soldiers down to the water, the Lord said to him, “You shall set to one side everyone who laps up the water as a dog does with its tongue; to the other, everyone who kneels down to drink.” Those who lapped up the water raised to their mouths by hand numbered three hundred, but all the rest of the soldiers knelt down to drink the water.
The Lord said to Gideon, “By means of the three hundred who lapped up the water I will save you and will deliver Midian into your power. So let all the other soldiers go home.” Their horns, and such supplies as the soldiers had with them, were taken up, and Gideon ordered the rest of the Israelites to their tents, but kept the three hundred men. Now the camp of Midian was beneath him in the valley.
He divided the three hundred men into three companies, and provided them all with horns and with empty jars and torches inside the jars. “Watch me and follow my lead,” he told them. “I shall go to the edge of the camp, and as I do, you must do also. When I and those with me blow horns, you too must blow horns all around the camp and cry out, ‘For the Lord and for Gideon!’”
So Gideon and the hundred men who were with him came to the edge of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, just after the posting of the guards. They blew the horns and broke the jars they were holding. All three companies blew horns and broke their jars. They held the torches in their left hands, and in their right the horns they were blowing, and cried out, “A sword for the Lord and Gideon!” They all remained standing in place around the camp, while the whole camp fell to running and shouting and fleeing. But the three hundred men kept blowing the horns, and throughout the camp the Lord set the sword of one against another.

Second reading
From a treatise on the Lord’s Prayer by Saint Cyprian, bishop and martyr
Your kingdom come. Your will be done

The prayer continues: Your kingdom come. We pray that God’s kingdom will become present for us in the same way that we ask for his name to be hallowed among us. For when does God not reign, when could there be in him a beginning of what always was and what will never cease to be? What we pray for is that the kingdom promised to us by God will come, the kingdom won by Christ’s blood and passion. Then we who formerly were slaves in this world will reign from now on under the dominion of Christ, in accordance with his promise: Come, O blessed of my Father, receive the kingdom which was prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
However, my dear friends, it could also be that the kingdom of God whose coming we daily wish for is Christ himself, since it is his coming that we long for. He is our resurrection, since we rise again in him; so too he can be thought of as the kingdom of God because we are to reign in him. And it is good that we pray for God’s kingdom; for though it is a heavenly kingdom, it is also an earthly one. But those who have already renounced the world are made greater by holding positions of authority in that kingdom.
After this we add: Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven; we pray not that God should do his will, but that we may carry out his will. How could anyone prevent the Lord from doing what he wills? But in our prayer we ask that God’s will be done in us, because the devil throws up obstacles to prevent our mind and our conduct from obeying God in all things. So if his will is to be done in us we have need of his will, that is, his help and protection. No one can be strong by his own strength or secure save by God’s mercy and forgiveness. Even the Lord, to show the weakness of the human nature which he bore, said: Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me, and then, by way of giving example to his disciples that they should do God’s will and not their own, he added: Nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.
All Christ did, all he taught, was the will of God. Humility in our daily lives, an unwavering faith, a moral sense of modesty in conversation, justice in acts, mercy in deed, discipline, refusal to harm others, a readiness to suffer harm, peaceableness with our brothers, a wholehearted love of the Lord, loving in him what is of the Father, fearing him because he is God, preferring nothing to him who preferred nothing to us, clinging tenaciously to his love, standing by his cross with loyalty and courage whenever there is any conflict involving his honor and his name, manifesting in our speech the constancy of our profession and under torture confidence for the fight, and in dying the endurance for which we will be crowned—this is what it means to wish to be a coheir with Christ, to keep God’s command; this is what it means to do the will of the Father.

First reading
From the book of Judges

The Israelites then said to Gideon, “Rule over us — you, your son, and your son’s son — for you rescued us from the power of Midian.” But Gideon answered them, “I will not rule over you, nor shall my son rule over you. The Lord must rule over you.”
Now Gideon had seventy sons, his direct descendants, for he had many wives. His concubine who lived in Shechem also bore him a son, whom he named Abimelech. At a good old age Gideon, son of Joash, died and was buried in the tomb of his father Joash in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
Abimelech, son of Jerubbaal, went to his mother’s kinsmen in Shechem, and said to them and to the whole clan to which his mother’s family belonged, “Put this question to all the citizens of Shechem: ‘Which is better for you: that seventy men, or all Jerubbaal’s sons, rule over you, or that one man rule over you?’ You must remember that I am your own flesh and bone.” When his mother’s kin repeated these words to them on his behalf, all the citizens of Shechem sympathized with Abimelech, thinking, “He is our kinsman.” They also gave him seventy silver shekels from the temple of Baal of Berith, with which Abimelech hired shiftless men and ruffians as his followers.
He then went to his ancestral house in Ophrah, and slew his brothers, the seventy sons of Jerubbaal, on one stone. Only the youngest son of Jerubbaal, Jotham, escaped, for he was hidden. Then all the citizens of Shechem and all Beth-millo came together and proceeded to make Abimelech king by the terebinth at the memorial pillar in Shechem.
When this was reported to him, Jotham went to the top of Mount Gerizim, and standing there, cried out to them in a loud voice: “Hear me, citizens of Shechem, that God may then hear you! Once the trees went to anoint a king over themselves. So they said to the olive tree, ‘Reign over us.’ But the olive tree answered them, ‘Must I give up my rich oil, whereby men and gods are honored, and go to wave over the trees?’ “Then the trees said to the fig tree, ‘Come; you reign over us!’ But the fig tree answered them, ‘Must I give up my sweetness and my good fruit, and go to wave over the trees?’
“Then the trees said to the vine, ‘Come you, and reign over us.’ But the vine answered them, ‘Must I give up my wine that cheers gods and men, and go to wave over the trees?’
“Then all the trees said to the buckthorn, ‘Come; you reign over us!’ But the buckthorn replied to the trees, ‘If you wish to anoint me king over you in good faith, come and take refuge in my shadow. Otherwise, let fire come from the buckthorn and devour the cedars of Lebanon.’
“If, then, you have acted in good faith and with honor toward Jerubbaal and his family this day, rejoice in Abimelech and may he in turn rejoice in you. But if not, let fire come forth from Abimelech to devour the citizens of Shechem and Beth-millo, and let fire come forth from the citizens and from Beth-millo to devour Abimelech.”

Second reading
From a treatise on the Lord’s Prayer by Saint Cyprian, bishop and martyr
After the gift of bread we ask pardon for our sins

As the Lord’s Prayer continues, we ask: Give us this day our daily bread. We can understand this petition in a spiritual and in a literal sense. For in the divine plan both senses may help toward our salvation. For Christ is the bread of life; this bread does not belong to everyone, but is ours alone. When we say, our Father, we understand that he is the father of those who know him and believe in him. In the same way we speak of our daily bread, because Christ is the bread of those who touch his body.
Now, we who live in Christ and receive his eucharist, the food of salvation, ask for this bread to be given us every day. Otherwise we may be forced to abstain from this communion because of some serious sin. In this way we shall be separated from the body of Christ, as he taught us in the words: I am the bread of life which has come down from heaven. Anyone who eats my bread will live for ever and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world. Christ is saying, then, that anyone who eats his bread will live for ever. Clearly they possess life who approach his body and share in the Eucharistic communion. For this reason we should be apprehensive and pray that no one has to abstain from this communion, lest he be separated from the body of Christ and be far from salvation. Christ has warned of this: If you do not eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood you will have no life in you. We pray for our daily bread, Christ, to be given to us. With his help, we who live and abide in him will never be separated from his body and his grace.
After this we ask pardon for our sins, in the words: and forgive us our trespasses. The gift of bread is followed by a prayer for forgiveness. To be reminded that we are sinners and forced to ask forgiveness for our faults is prudent and sound. Even while we are asking God’s forgiveness, our hearts are aware of our state! This command to pray daily for our sins reminds us that we commit sin every day. No one should complacently think himself innocent, lest his pride lead to further sin. Such is the warning that John gives us in his letter: If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, the Lord is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins. His letter includes both points, that we should beg for forgiveness for our sins, and that we receive pardon when we do. He calls the Lord faithful, because he remains loyal to his promise, by forgiving us our sins. He both taught us to pray for our sins and our faults, and also promised to show us a father’s mercy and forgiveness.